The Real Estate Industry Today, Tomorrow, Forever
The future of Real Estate seems fuzzy at times — networking, automation, social media, the internet; who will attempt to navigate this trillion dollar industry. It was about 30 years ago when real estate was local but neighborly, mostly. Century 21 had a substantial dominance in the residential real estate market. At one time, we owned five local franchises; the theme was national but neighborly and the offices were small in numbers averaging about 30 agents. Multiple listings were in a book that was delivered and about the time you got the book, most of the properties were sold by an agent in that office. I can remember going to present an offer to the seller at his home; there were ten agents with offers, all presenting their client’s offer to the seller. I haven’t done that in a while. We were in the beginning of a recession 30 years ago and interest rates began to rise. I was young with a young family; my second son Jason, now in the business, was not born yet. Time to get creative as interest rates began to rise. Over the next three years, interest rates would get to 18% for an FHA loan and even with prices low the market began to dry up and agents left the business. Loans were still assumable, for the most part, until congress threw REALTORS® under the bus and allowed banks to call most loans due on sale. I remember the All Inclusive Deed of Trust and the Contract of Sale that were both insurable by title insurance companies. I did my first development project around that time, got my Insurance Agent license, and my NASDAQ Broker license; I was already a licensed General Contractor.
The early 80′s brought new automation. Before cell phones, we had pagers. I remember stopping at a pay phone or waiting until I got back to the office to return or make phone calls. I remember our first computer, but before the computer we had a machine that would send us updates on listings. The computer was a Honeywell computer that had front and back office. The fax machine and the cell came soon after. The 80′s to me brought substantial innovation and automation, so I thought. Interest rates began reseeding around ’85 and the market began to improve. Agents began to come back into the business. the late 80′s brought more problems: a new recession, then another one by the mid 90′s, and one more by the mid 2000′s which was the worst one ever. I was told that we had one in the early 70′s while I was college. Things seem to keep repeating, including the advancement of new technology; there is a recession every few years and that seems to have been the case.
The survival of the real estate industry seems to rely on independent licensees and brokers working with organized real estate like the REALTOR® organization with over a million members, nationally. The REALTOR® organization is a three-way agreement between the State, National, and local Association of REALTOR®. By working together, we can fight for legislation that will allow us to stay in business. Is homeownership viable in today’s mobile economy? Is it important to protect the concept of homeownership? Should people buy homes as a long-term investment, pay for it, and enjoy the benefits it brings years later? I still believe that homeownership is one of the most valuable assets that a person can own. Please, let’s protect the true value of homeownership. The Mortgage Interest deduction must remain untouched, write your Congressperson today!
AUTHOR: LeFrancis Arnold, CAR 2011 President-Elect, LACBOR Past President — http://www.LeFrancisArnold.com
